The 21 Movies You Need to See Before the End of 2017

Your all-purpose guide to all the feature films actually worth your time this year.

mother! (Sept. 15)

Darren Aronofsky’s enthusiastically punctuated new thriller stars Jennifer Lawrence as a young bride who becomes convinced there’s something very, very wrong with her husband (Javier Bardem) and their new, mysterious houseguests (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer). Like any good thriller, you’re better off going into mother! knowing as little as possible—but even the trailer packs in plenty of nightmare-fueling imagery.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Sept. 22)

Just when it seemed like the world couldn’t sustain yet another super-spy franchise, we got 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service, which deviated from the uber-serious James Bonds and Jason Bournes of the world to deliver a gleefully over-the-top blend of action and comedy. The Golden Circle ups the ante by introducing the American equivalent of the Kingsman, the Statesman, adding Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, and Pedro Pascal to the mix.

Stronger (Sept. 22)

This based-on-a-true-story drama adapts the memoir of Jeff Bauman, whose legs were amputated after he was caught in an explosion while standing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. It’s an emotional, sobering story—and it’s sure to be a tough watch—but director David Gordon Green is a solid choice to tell it, and lead actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany are well-cast as Bauman and his then-fiancée Erin.

Battle of the Sexes (Sept. 22)

This sports dramedy chronicles the most infamous (and highest-rated) tennis match in U.S. history: 1973’s "battle of the sexes," in which Bobby Riggs—who had repeatedly disparaged women’s tennis—squared off against Billie Jean King. It’s a rousing, satisfying moment in sports history, and it’s hard to come up with a better pair of leads than Steve Carell as the smug, chauvinistic Riggs and Emma Stone as the steely King.

American Made (Sept. 29)

It’s been a rough year for Tom Cruise, who weathered the flop of The Mummy and broke his ankle attempting to perform a complicated stunt for Mission: Impossible 6. But things might turn around with American Made, which casts Cruise in the real-life story of a drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel who agreed to inform for the DEA. As a bonus, American Made re-teams Cruise with director Doug Liman, whose Edge of Tomorrow was the best Cruise vehicle in at least a decade.

Blade Runner 2049 (Oct. 6)

One of the most acclaimed sci-fi movies in history gets a very belated sequel in Blade Runner 2049, which comes a whopping 35 years after the original. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about this kind of project, but Blade Runner 2049 seems to be checking all the boxes for a worthy continuation of the franchise: A terrific director in Denis Villeneuve, a great new star in Ryan Gosling, and the return of Harrison Ford, who top-lined the original.

The Snowman (Oct. 13)

Jo Nesbø’s bestselling crime novel makes it to the big screen, telling the grisly and gloriously pulpy story of a detective who attempts to track down a serial killer who leaves a snowman at the scenes of his murders. Michael Fassbender leads a cast that also includes Rebecca Ferguson, J.K. Simmons, and Chloe Sevigny.

Marshall (Oct. 13)

This long-overdue biopic stars Chadwick Boseman as future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall at an early and important turning point in his legal career: defending a black man (Sterling K. Brown) accused of the rape and attempted murder of a white Connecticut socialite (Kate Hudson).

Only the Brave (Oct. 20)

Only the Brave recounts the harrowing true story of the Granite Mountain hotshots, a group of elite firefighters tasked with battling wildfires that could otherwise blaze wildly out of control—and zooms in on the devastating Yarnell Hill fire, which you can read more about here. The top-tier ensemble cast includes Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Taylor Kitsch, and Jeff Bridges.

Jigsaw (Oct. 27)

Who wants a new Saw movie? After watching the first trailer for Jigaw, my answer—to my own great surprise—was "me." Jigsaw looks like a fresh start for the tired franchise, ditching the torture-porn trappings of the older movies for a campier and all-around more playful riff on a killer with a penchant for weird games and clown puppets.

Thor: Ragnarok (Nov. 3)

It took a couple of misfires, but Marvel finally seems to have found the right approach for a Thor movie. This cosmic buddy comedy casts Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk in a meaty supporting role, and pits the duo against a roster of villains that includes Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum, and adds a new ally in Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Best of all, Thor: Ragnarok is being directed by Taika Waititi, who proved his comedic chops in 2014’s What We Do in the Shadows.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Nov. 10)

When you’ve made two films as good as In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, any new project deserves the benefit of the doubt. But even without that pedigree, it would be worth lining up for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which follows a mother (Frances McDormand) who purchases the titular billboards to leave scathing messages for the local police who have failed to solve the murder of her daughter. Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, and Peter Dinklage co-star.

Justice League (Nov. 17)

Warner Bros. has a lot riding on Justice League. Coming after the dismal Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad—as well as the much-needed success of Wonder Woman—this jam-packed superhero mash-up is poised, for better or for worse, to set the stage for the future of the DC Extended Universe. I don’t have enough room to recount the myriad production problems that have beset Justice League (let us never forget the saga of the Superman Mustache)—but whether it’s terrific or a train wreck, all eyes are going to be on this one.

Darkest Hour (Nov. 22)

Gary Oldman is already generating Oscar buzz for Darkest Hour, which casts him as Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the beginning of World War II as he attempts to figure out how best to rally the government and the British people against Nazism. It’s a fascinating story—and, unfortunately, a newly timely one.

Molly’s Game (Nov. 22)

After decades as one of the few big-name screenwriters in Hollywood, Aaron Sorkin steps into the director’s chair for the first time in Molly’s Game (which he adapted from Molly Bloom’s 2015 memoir of the same name). This legal thriller about the young woman who rank a very, very high-stakes underground poker game that attracted both celebrities and criminals is right in Sorkin’s wheelhouse, and Jessica Chastain looks tremendous in the lead role, with Idris Elba costarring as her lawyer.

The Disaster Artist (Dec. 1)

The Room—a 2004 movie so hilariously bad that it earned a devoted national following—gets an affectionate origin story in The Disaster Artist, which casts a series of big-name actors in a comedic, behind-the-scenes look at The Room’s catastrophic production. James Franco stars as Tommy Wiseau, the fascinatingly eccentric writer/director/star of The Room.

The Shape of Water (Dec. 8)

Guillermo del Toro’s latest, which earned rave reviews out of the Venice Film Festival, follows a mute woman (Sally Hawkins) who forms an unlikely relationship with the creature (Doug Jones) who lives in a glass tank in the top-secret government facility in which she works. Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, and Richard Jenkins costar.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Dec. 15)

What can I say? It’s Star Wars. The plethora of terrific new characters introduced in 2015’s The Force Awakens—including Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Kyle Ren (Adam Driver)—return to continue this third trilogy set in a galaxy far, far away, with plenty of tie-ins to the beloved original. Mark Hamill returns as Luke Skywalker—presumably in a meatier role than his cameo at the end of The Force Awakens—and, more poignantly, this will be the late Carrie Fisher’s last performance as General Leia.

Downsizing (Dec. 22)

Alexander Payne’s quirky, high-concept dramedy is set in a future where scientists have solved a host of global problems by shrinking human beings down to five inches tall. It might sound goofy, but an absurdly stacked ensemble cast—including Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Jason Sudeikis, and Christoph Waltz—is poised to ground this offbeat premise in real, human characters.

The Post (Dec. 22)

Steven Spielberg’s historical drama follows the editors and writers at The Washington Post who defied the government by publishing the Pentagon Papers. Much like his previous historical drama Lincoln, Spielberg’s massive ensemble cast spans from awards-show heavyweights like Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep to quirkier figures like Mr. Show alums David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, as well as Silicon Valley’s Zach Woods. And let’s just say this is a particularly meaningful time for a movie about the importance of fearless journalism in the face of a combative government.

Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Film (Dec. 25)

It hits theaters in just a few months, but we don’t know a lot about Paul Thomas Anderson's latest yet. (Some reports have called the movie Phantom Thread, but we don’t even know if that's the actual title.) But what we do know is enough to make it a must-see. Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest—which follows a fashion designer who works for the British royal family in the 1950s—reunites him with star Daniel Day-Lewis for the first time since 2007’s There Will Be Blood, in what will purportedly be Day-Lewis’ last performance.

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